India's Yes Bank falls after RBI again says no to CEO's term extension

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Shares in Yes Bank Ltd tanked more than 8 percent on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) denied its request for a second time on Wednesday to extend Chief Executive Rana Kapoor’s term.

The RBI had last month refused to grant an extension to Rana Kapoor as managing director and chief executive officer of the lender.

Shares in the lender fell as much as 8.2 percent to 213 rupees on Friday. The Indian markets were shut for a public holiday on Thursday.

Yes Bank had asked RBI to extend Kapoor’s term beyond January to allow more time to find a replacement. But the central bank stuck to its deadline to appoint a successor by February 1, 2019.

As of last close, the stock has declined over 23 percent since the day when RBI initially ruled that Kapoor, who also co-founded the bank, could remain CEO only until Jan. 31, 2019.

Local newspapers on Friday also reported that Kapoor has met the wife and children of deceased co-founder Ashok Kapur in a bid to reach a truce with them and end a lengthy legal tussle with the bank and its board over certain rights.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday the meetings did occur, and that the two sides discussed multiple ways in which they can work together to support the lender through this leadership transition.

The two sides each control a roughly 10 percent stake in the bank.

Yes Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)